Keywords:

organic nanowires;

vapor detection;

optical waveguides;

chemical sensors

By decorating single crystal organic nanowires with H2O2-reactive peroxalate ester, a core/sheath structure for the rapid and selective detection of H2O2 vapors is demonstrated via the optical waveguide of a single wire. Such a compact sensing configuration may act as the “nano-alarm-lamp” for the H2O2 vapors and be attractive for on-chip optical detection in complex chemical or biological environments.